Evolution of Economic Ideas

Adam Smith to Amartya Sen and Beyond

Vinay Bharat-Ram

Explores ideas of economic thinkers through the lens of their lives and social circumstances

Lucid narrative based on authors interactions with his students

Evolution of Economic Ideas

Adam Smith to Amartya Sen and Beyond

Vinay Bharat-Ram

Description

Do you know that Karl Marx, who despised the capitalist class, was actually raised in an upper-middle-class family? And that the distinguished economist John Maynard Keynes scored poorly in economics in the civil service examination-which he attributed to the examiner's lack of knowledge of the subject?

Vinay Bharat-Ram, in this delightful and breezy read, offers revealing glimpses into the lives and social circumstances of some of the most influential economic thinkers who have determined the way we understand economics today. Brimming with fascinating nuggets from their lives, this book journeys from Adam Smith's free-market capitalism to Amartya Sen's welfare economics and beyond, demystifying several momentous economic developments along the way. It explains how the social conditions and unique circumstances of these philosophers shaped their sometimes rich and sometimes absurd ideas that eventually formed the foundation of modern economics.

Giving a wide berth to the much-dreaded buzzwords that have long hindered an easy understanding of economics, this concise book, laced with warm humour, casts light on ideas that have held generations of economists in thrall.

Evolution of Economic Ideas

Adam Smith to Amartya Sen and Beyond

Vinay Bharat-Ram

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgements The Great Optimist The Pessimists The Angry Genius The Marginalists The Transition from Political Economy to Economics The Trajectory of Partial Equilibrium Analysis Entrepreneurship and Innovation Money Matters The Saviour of Capitalism The Keynesians The Duel Begins Mont Pèlerin The Great Monetarist The Development Economist The Guru of International Trade Conscience of the Economics Profession Reality versus TheoryBibliographyAbout the Author

Evolution of Economic Ideas

Adam Smith to Amartya Sen and Beyond

Vinay Bharat-Ram

Author Information

Vinay Bharat-Ram, Chairperson, Population Foundation of India

Vinay Bharat-Ram is the chairman of DCM Limited, the chairperson of the Population Foundation of India, and life trustee of the Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi. Educated at the universities of Delhi (St. Stephens College), Michigan, and Harvard, he holds a PhD in economics from the University of Delhi.